RE: Centerra taking a kicking

The gov't owns 1/3 of equity in the Centerra gold mine, so I presume that the gov't gets 1/3 of the mine profit. They say they aren't going to take less and are probably wanting more. A couple things driving the concern for them : 1) I think a world court ordered some of their share diverted to reimburse a company that got their assets nationalized, 2) production at the mine declined last year, and, 3) they are heavily deendent on revenue from the mine for their GDP. Where it affects us is that they want all miners to pay the same as defined in the law. That creates a dilemma right away. Centerra is co-owned, but the courts have ruled that Stans is not required to share ownership with the state. So how do they reconcile that? They apparently need some new law, if they really want a common standard. I don't think we will see a reconciliation of this dilemma in the near future... but maybe that was the focus of the recent meetings... not so much whether or not our lease is valid. I think that you really need 2 things resolved for me to get excited about the company again: 1) statement that the lease is valid and will not be challenged repeatedly and 2) a deal on revenue sharing or taxes. I just can't imagine attracting new capital wothout these issues getting settled once and for all. Even the Russians identify these uncertainties as deterrents to private investment capital coming to the country. I would be skeptical about a big SP pop until they are resolded, as well.